News

California Son Due Out May 24 via BMG

Mar 20, 2019By Christopher Roberts

Morrissey is releasing California Son, a covers album, on May 24 via BMG. Now he has shared the album's cover of "Morning Starship," a 1973 song by Jobriath (aka Bruce Wayne Campbell). The track features Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear. More

Other Openers Include Grizzly Bear, Kamasi Washington, and Perfume Genius

May 29, 2018By Christopher Roberts

Florence + the Machine (aka Florence Welch and backing band) is releasing a new album, High As Hope, on June 29 via Republic. Now she has announce some North American tour dates that stretch from August until October. More

Songs of the Week is fairly easy to put together, there are obviously standout tracks and it's just a case of working out the order. Other weeks there are few great tracks and it's a real struggle. This week there was an obvious #1 in Beach House and then there were so, so many other tracks to decide between to come up with a Top 10. More

The full list of 2018 Record Store Day releases has been revealed. Record Store Day goes down on April 21 and just in case you don't already know, the basic idea is to get music fans out to their local independent record store, with the bait being a slew of exclusive limited edition releases. More

The Sasquatch! Music Festival has revealed the lineup for their 2018 festival, their 17th year. Once again it will be going down Memorial Day Weekend (May 25 - 28) at the Gorge Amphitheater in Quincy, Washington. The lineup includes Bon Iver, The National, Modest Mouse, David Byrne, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, Slowdive, Neko Case, Julien Baker, TV On The Radio, Tune-Yards, Wolf Parade, Japandroids, Big Thief, Perfume Genius, Japanese Breakfast, Benjamin Clementine, Phoebe Bridgers, Algiers, Pond, and others. More

Another Dark Year Was Brightened By a Plethora of Fantastic Albums

Dec 30, 2017By Mark Redfern

2016 was regarded as a fairly rough year by many, but 2017 was no walk in the park either. 2016 was mired by the deaths of several beloved musical icons (David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, George Michael, and Sharon Jones among them) and the disappointing and divisive Presidential election, but in 2017 we had to deal with the ramifications of said election (we'd say that roughly 95% of the musicians we interview likely don't support many, if any, of President Trump's policies). More

Painted Ruins Out Now via RCA

Aug 18, 2017By Ryan Meaney

The kaleidoscopic sound the four members of Grizzly Bear create is a juxtaposition unto itself. It is Earth shatteringly loud yet serene and tranquil. It speaks on the larger human psyche while observing the minutia of everyday life. More

Lady Gaga, Kesha, and Best Coast Also Speak Out

Jul 26, 2017By Christopher Roberts

This morning President Trump announced on Twitter that Transgender people were no longer allowed to serve in the military in any capacity, a reversal of an Obama policy. Several notable musicians have spoken out against the ban, including Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste, Tegan and Sara, Lady Gaga, Kesha, Best Coast, and others. More

Plus Jaws of Love., Phoebe Bridgers, Lost Horizons, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Jul 21, 2017By Christopher Roberts

This week we announced our new print issue, which features Grizzly Bear on the cover, so how could we not name them Song of the Week? But they legitimately deserve the honor, as each of the four singles from their forthcoming new album, Painted Ruins, have been stellar and "Neighbors" is no exception. More

Issue 61 Also Includes Interviews with The War on Drugs, The National, Broken Social Scene, Slowdive vs. Ariel Pink, Phoenix, Beach House, and Much More

Jul 18, 2017By Christopher Roberts

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our Summer 2017 Issue, which is out now digitally via Under the Radar's app and the magazine app Readly. The print version has shipped out to subscribers and stores and will be on all newsstands soon (as well as available soon digitally via the magazine app Zinio). The issue features Grizzly Bear on the cover. More

Plus UNKLE, Madeline Kenney, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Jun 23, 2017By Christopher Roberts

To help you sort through the multitude of fresh songs released in the last seven days, we have picked the seven best this week had to offer, along with highlighting other notable new tracks shared this week. More

Could Their New Album Finally Be on the Way?

Apr 04, 2017By Christopher Roberts

Grizzly Bear haven't released an album in five years, since 2012's Shields, but have long been teasing a new album. Now they have released an actual teaser trailer. It's 34 seconds long and contains abstract and color images, but it does feature a snippet of new instrumental music. More

"'Trump's America' is a continuation of white supremacy."

Nov 21, 2016By Christopher Roberts

Few indie rock and hip-hop musicians not named Kanye West or Azealia Banks appear happy about the election of Donald Trump. During the primaries Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste was a strong supporter of Bernie Sanders before throwing his weight behind Hillary Clinton in the general election. More

"She is GOD compared to this Donald mess."

Oct 10, 2016By Christopher Roberts

It's no secret that in the Democratic presidential primary elections many indie rock musicians strongly supported Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton. One of Sanders' more eager and public supporters in the music community was Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste. More

Day of the Dead out 05/20 via 4AD

Apr 11, 2016By Joshua M. Miller

Next month The National-currated Grateful Dead tribute compilation Day of the Dead will be released. So far they've shared several songs featured on the compilation. Today they continued the trend, sharing the video for their cover of 16 minute epic "Terrapin Station." More

Explain Meaning and Backstory of Lyrics

Feb 13, 2015By Mike Hilleary

For those that don't know Genius is a website that allows users to provide annotations and interpretations to various forms of text. Originally targeted towards rap lyrics, the site has since expanded to include poetry, literature, new stories, and other genres of music.More

Celebrating the Album on the Road

Dec 03, 2013By Mike Hilleary

Back in 1974 Gene Clark, found member of The Byrds, released No Other. Developing into a cult favorite among musicians years after being deemed a critical and commmercial failure at the time of its release, the album will be given a bit of new life when it will be played in its entirety on the road by a gathering of some of indie rock's most notable artists, including Beach House, as well as members of Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, and The Walkmen. More

Bankrupt! Out Tomorrow

Apr 22, 2013By Mike Hilleary

With their much-anticipated new album Bankrupt!finally seeing release this week, France's Phoenix have unearthed yet another high-profile cover/remix of their record's lead single "Entertainment." More

Moved to Nov. 2

Apr 12, 2013By Mike Hilleary

Announcing just yesterday that they would be extending their world tour in support of last year's excellent album Shields, Grizzly Bear have revealed they've had to postpone their curated I'll Be Your Mirror ATP Festival. More

Featuring Performances by The Walkmen, Real Estate, and I Break Horses

Jan 28, 2013By Mike Hilleary

All Tomorrow's Parties has announced that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Grizzly Bear have been chosen to headline and curate their upcoming "I'll Be Your Mirror" events in London on May 4 and 5, respectively. More

Listen to Remix of "Gun Shy" by Lindstrøm

Featuring New Piano Arrangements of Shields Tracks

Dec 19, 2012By Mike Hilleary

With less than a week before Christmas Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste yesterday took to Twitter to wish everyone a great holiday and share a special YouTube clip featuring their latest record Shields rearranged for fans of New Age piano. More

Band Performs Shields Track “Yet Again”

Another Solo Track

Nov 12, 2012By Mike Hilleary

As Grizzly Bear continue to ride the success of their newest album Shields, guitarist Daniel Rossen has followed up his own recent solo EP Silent Hour/Golden Mile with a number of out-of-the-blue tracks. More

Perform "Sleeping Ute"

Perform Songs From Shields

Sep 12, 2012By Mike Hilleary

With the promotional machine picking up steam, Grizzly Bear recently found themselves performing a number of new songs off their their forthcoming album Shields for New Yorks's WNYC radio station. More

New Album Shields Out Sept. 18

Sep 04, 2012By Mike Hilleary

Across the pond this morning New York sons Grizzly Bear appeared on Lauren Laverne's BBC 6Music radio show where the band performed two songs set to appear on their forthcoming new album Shields, arriving Sept. 17 and 18 in the UK and U.S. via Warp. More

Perform "Sleeping Ute," "Yet Again," and "Two Weeks"

Aug 15, 2012By Mike Hilleary

Taken from their recent performance on the U.S.S. Intrepid as part of StePhest Colbchella '012: Rocktaugustfest!, Grizzly Bear made an appearance on last night's episode of The Colbert Report promoting their forthcoming new album Shields. More

New Track Off Shields

Aug 03, 2012By Mike Hilleary

After sharing the first bit of their forthcoming album Shields with the track "Sleeping Ute,"Grizzly Bear turned around yesterday to deliver yet another piece of the ten track puzzle with "Yet Again." More

Featuring Grizzly Bear and The Flaming Lips

Aug 01, 2012By Mike Hilleary

Kicking it up a notch from last year's StePhest Colbchella '011: Rock You Like a Thirst-icane, Stephen Colbert announced last night that for StePhest Colbchella '012: Rocktaugustfest! that he would be throwing a little soiree on a little boat called the U.S.S. Intrepid. More

With special guests Beck, Ed Droste, Victoria LeGrand, Zola Jesus, and more

Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor’s Solo Project Releases First Single

Jul 25, 2011By Margot Cooper Gruen

CANT, Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor's solo effort, includes George Lewis Jr. of Twin Shadow and is due to release first album, now titled Dreams Come True, September 13 via Taylor's Terrible Records. More

At Least $2.00 off Most Back Issues

May 13, 2010By Laura Studarus

Sad but true, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Well, sad for us that is. Swamped with back issues—which I’m all sure we can agree is a good thing—Under the Radar is passing them on to you with a sale on selected issues. The question is, can you have too much of a good thing? We're offering two dollars off most available back issues! More

Openers Include: Grizzly Bear, Sonic Youth, and Beach House

Apr 23, 2010By Laura Studarus

Didn't catch every band at Coachella you were hoping to see? Never fear! This summer, Hollywood Bowl is hosting several Under the Radar-friendly bands, including Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, and Pavement. We have the dates. More

Headliners: U2, Muse, and Stevie Wonder

Apr 15, 2010By Kyle Lemmon

Glastonbury is a huge British multi-day music festival and this year's lineup is just as epic. The fest will again be at Pilton, England Worthy Farm on June 23-27, and the three major headliners are U2, Muse, and Stevie Wonder. More

Haiti is still recovering from January's devastating earthquake. Aiding the recovery efforts is a group of musicians and artists who are auctioning off exclusive items to benefit the nation. The project, called Crafts For a Cause, is spearheaded by Binki Shapiro of Little Joy and will go live on March 15th. Among the items up for bidding, an original song by Mark Ronson, a camera painted by Drew Barrymore, and a shirt designed by M. Ward. Other artists involved include: Jenny Lewis, Tegan & Sara, Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear,Fleet Foxes, Feist, Conor Obest, Aziz Ansari, Devendra Banhart,Cat Power, Daft Punk, Natalie Portman, The Strokes, and many others. More

New Album to Feature Beck, Feist, plus Grizzly Bear and Wilco Members

Feb 08, 2010By Mark Redfern

Jamie Lidell's third album will be entitled Compass and is due for release May 18 via Warp. Compass features a slew of notable guests, including Beck, Feist, Gonzales, Pat Sansone of Wilco, and Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear. More

Blue Valentine to Premiere at Sundance

Dec 14, 2009By Laura Studarus

After a solid year that landed them on a plethora of Best of Lists, Grizzly Bear are looking ahead to 2010. Next month, The Sundance Film Festival will see the premiere of Blue Valentine, a Ryan Gosling/Michelle Williams movie that features a soundtrack from the Brooklyn quartet. More

Grizzly Bear and Wildbirds & Peacedrums to Join

Nov 11, 2009By Laura Studarus

Actor-loving musician St. Vincent (Annie Clark) has announced new tour plans. She'll be traveling though Europe with American band Grizzly Bear before returning stateside in 2010 to tour with the Swedish husband-and-wife duo, Wildbirds & Peacedrums. More

The official soundtrack for 2008's Twilight wasn't much to sniff about (kind of like the movie). Only a few scant cuts from blood letters Paramore and Linkin Park littered the tracklisting. Conversely, the marketing blitz for Twilight sequel New Moon has been nothing short of buzz-worthy and downright confusing. The final tracklisting was announced today on Myspace and writer Stephanie Meyer's website and it's just as ripe for hipsterdom's cognitive dissonance as we surmised. More

Joins Death Cab For Cutie, Thom Yorke, and Bon Iver in Vampire Coven

Sep 17, 2009By Laura Studarus

Hey have you heard about this Twilight thing? Apparently it’s all the rage in indie rock these days. As we previously reported Thom Yorke, Death Cab for Cutie, and Bon Iver have all penned original songs for the soundtrack to upcoming Twilight sequel, New Moon. Today, another name was added to the list—Under the Radar Anticipated Albums of 2009 cover artist, Grizzly Bear. More

Yah Mo B singing “While You Wait For the Others”

Aug 31, 2009By Mark Redfern

Grizzly Bear are releasing Veckatimest's second single today. "While You Wait For the Others" is being released on iTunes and as a 7 inch. The B-side is a new version of "While You Wait For the Others" that features the one and only Michael McDonald on lead vocals! McDonald is the '70s and '80s icon who got his start in Steely Dan, was then recruited by The Doobie Brothers in 1975, and had a successful solo career in the '80s with such hits as Yah Mo B There, his 1983 duet with James Ingram. No word on how and why McDonald came to sing on this version of "While You Wait For the Others." More

They Go Together Like a Fine Wine-Cheese Pairing

Aug 04, 2009By Kyle Lemmon

Despite their growing status outside of the indie rock intelligentsia, Grizzly Bear's and St. Vincent's astutely arranged pop songs have more in common with Stravinsky or Ravel than FM radio hits. Now the two Brooklyn heavyweights are combining their talents and bringing their delicate music to venues throughout Europe. Maybe next time North America. More

It's official: MGMT and the Flaming Lips will headline the two days of Noise Pop and Another Planet Entertainment's third annual Treasure Island Music Festival, to be held in the midst of San Francisco's beautiful Indian Summer, Oct. 17-18. Plus The Decemberists, Beirut, The Streets, Grizzly Bear, Girl Talk, Yo La Tengo, The Walkmen, Dan Deacon, others set to play. More

Free Weekly Shows to Feature: Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, The Fiery Furnaces, Deerhunter, and many more

Jul 02, 2009By Laura Studarus

In an effort to beat the heat and current economic state, “Jelly Pool Parties” has just announced their line-up for the weekly free concert series beginning July 12th wtih Mission of Burma, Fucked Up, Ponytail, and Jemina Pearl of Be Your Own Pet. The Brooklyn shows will feature the likes of Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, HEALTH, Fucked Up, Deerhunter, and The Fiery Furnaces. More

If that Warp Records box set wasn't enough, the label's sister company Warp X has something else to offer music fans. The independent Sheffield film production company is preparing for the release of their fourth film, the DIY concert documentary entitled All Tomorrow's Parties. All Tomorrow's Parties puts a lens on the cult music festival of the same name on September 23rd.More

Phoenix Hits #37

Jun 03, 2009By Laura Studarus

Grizzly Bear, who were on the cover of Under the Radar’s Most Anticipated Albums of 2009 issue, have hit #8 on the Billboard Album Charts with the release of their third album Veckatimest.Phoenix hit 37. More

Interviews

The Grand Buffet

Oct 06, 2017By Matt Fink

When Grizzly Bear released their debut, Horn of Plenty, in 2004, it would have been difficult to predict that they'd still be making records 13 years later. Essentially a solo album by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ed Droste, with drummer Chris Bear adding percussion and backing vocals, there was little indication that their future work would be defined by collaboration and the contributions of four unique creative personas. More

Own Your Scars

Oct 05, 2017By Matt Fink

On January 5, 2014, Grizzly Bear performed at the iconic Sydney Opera House, bringing to a close a two-year cycle of writing, recording, and touring that had brought them to new creative and commercial heights while exposing fault lines within the band itself. More

Ed Droste on Yellow House

Jul 24, 2014By Gary Knight

For this Throwback Thursday we revisit our 2006 article on Grizzly Bear, our first print magazine interview with the band (we did interview them a year earlier on our website about their debut album,Horn of Plenty). Read on as Ed Droste discusses the band's sophomore album, Yellow House, and his hope for some hometown recognition. More

Anything Can Happen

Mar 13, 2012By John Everhart

"After five years, I think we deserved a little break. And to be completely honest, the last show was only a year and two months ago. It's really not that long. It was in October of 2010, the Neil Young Bridge School benefit," says Grizzly Bear frontman Ed Droste, a tad defensive at the notion that his band has disappeared from the indie map for too long of a stretch. More

“You haven’t made it until you’re in the Winchester Daily Gazette,” says Ed Droste. The 27-year-old singer/guitarist and founding member of Brooklyn-based Grizzly Bear is explaining what fame is, according to his parents. Despite the band having been written about in some of the world’s biggest music publications, which have taken notice of Grizzly Bear’s experimental and elegiac folk, Droste’s mother and father are holding judgment until their son is featured in the local New Hampshire paper. More

New Artists for 2006

Jan 01, 2006By Gary Knight

Marked by long-stretching vocal harmonies and monk-like chanting, the music of Grizzly Bear is gentle and pastoral, employing a minimal environment of drums and the occasional banjo, augmented by subtle elements of electronica. What began as a home project for founder Edward Droste in his Brooklyn apartment, has since become a full-fledged band that tours the world. More

Reviews

Painted Ruins

RCA

Aug 16, 2017By John Everhart

David Lynch has suggested that his work, which often eschews narrative sense, offers more to the viewer than they initially realize. What seems inscrutable may actually be made sense of deep within one's brain, like the interpretation of a dream. Much of Grizzly Bear's recorded output invites a similar interpretation, and their fifth LP, Painted Ruins, is no different. More

Shields

Warp

Sep 14, 2012By Ryan Hamm

Like any Grizzly Bear release, Shields demands multiple listens before one is able to peel the layers back to see how good it just might be. This shouldn't be anything new to fans—Veckatimest was widely regarded as one of the best albums of 2009, but most everyone, if they were honest, would admit that it took some time to realize it might be better than good. Shields demands a similar amount of patience and engagement—and, fortunately, it pays out similar rewards. More

It’s deceptively easy to see the career of French musician Serge Gainsbourg as one continuous punchline. With his distinctive vocal style—a muttered sing-speech—parodied almost into oblivion since his rise to popularity in the 1960s, the inclusion of his music in film or television seems to automatically indicate the horny bachelor, the ill-conceived seduction, or (horror of horrors) hipsters aiming to embrace kitsch with both hands. Last night at the Hollywood Bowl however, cool was the name of the game—as Beck, Zola Jesus, Victoria Legrand (of Beach House), Mike Patton, Ed Droste (of Grizzly Bear), The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Lulu Gainsbourg, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, sang, spoke and cooed their tributes to the late performer. More

Phoenix at Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA

Phoenix kicked off the mild-weather evening with their most recognizable song, "Lisztomania"-accompanied vociferously by the 17,000-strong crowd who drowned out vocalist Thomas Mars' spirited, if nervous, performance. More

Coachella 2010 began under the cloud of an erupting volcano. Several of the European artists playing this year had to cancel their Coachella appearances due to the Icelandic volcano eruption grounding all flights from the U.K. and other parts of Europe. So day one of Coachella was greeted with the news that we wouldn't be seeing Frightened Rabbit, Delphic, The Cribs (with Johnny Marr), or Gary Numan after all. And only a few days earlier Mew had already cancelled due to illness. So this year's festival was already starting with some losses, Mew and Delphic probably being the most unfortunate ones. But while there were few artists playing Coachella 2010 who I both hadn't seen before and was dying to see (Pavement being one of them), the lineup was still rigged with enough great artists so that I had little time to eat and take breaks between bands. Here's what I saw during day one. More

Confession: despite my various musical exploits, this is my first year at Coachella. And in spite of various friends' threats to paint a "V" on my forehead and subject me to an unspeakable hazing process (that's standard...right?), I spent the week leading up to the festivities feeling not unlike an over-sugared toddler on Christmas Eve. Day one's notable loot: Sleigh Bells, Yeasayer, Passion Pit, Grizzly Bear, and Fever Ray. More

Veckatimest

Warp

Jun 24, 2009By John Everhart

As anticipation for Veckatimest built to a fever pitch in early March—Radiohead's ateaseweb.com message board filled with literally thousands of conjectures—Fleet Foxes' frontman Robin Pecknold brazenly declared it to be the best record of the '00s, all this more than a full two months before the record's official release date. Hyperbole cast aside, Veckatimest is certainly Grizzly Bear's magnum opus, a quantum leap over 2006's excellent Yellow House, and a damn strong contender for the best album of 2009 at this early juncture. More

SXSW 2009 Day 2

Day two of SXSW for us began where day one ended, at the Central Presbyterian Church. The night before we had seen there the appealing trio of Department of Eagles, St. Vincent, and Camera Obscura. This night we also saw three bands at the venue, but only one was great. As we had missed M. Ward the night before at the same venue by not allowing enough time to navigate the long line, we were determined to arrive in plenty of time for Grizzly Bear’s 8:30 P.M. slot at the eMusic showcase. That meant that we had to sit through two other bands we had no interest in seeing, including one we’d never even heard of before. More